Ben Shelton Shocks Carlos Alcaraz in Historic Late-Night US Open Thriller

Ben Shelton advanced to the semi-finals of the 2026 US Open on Wednesday morning following a historic victory over Carlos Alcaraz in a match destined to go down in Grand Slam history. Until today, the latest-finishing match in US Open history was between Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2022, which concluded at 2:50 AM local time. Today, the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium dispersed after a thriller that officially ended at 3:34 AM.

A Historic Battle Under the New York Lights

Entering the match with a 0-3 head-to-head deficit against the Spaniard, Shelton said prior to the encounter: "It will take special tennis from me. What he does after five months without playing is superhuman. There will be fireworks on Tuesday, and I will be ready." And fireworks there certainly were. The epic clash ended in a 7:6 (5), 1:6, 3:6, 6:1, 6:7 (7) victory for Shelton, fueling American dreams of a first homegrown men's champion since Andy Roddick lifted the trophy in 2003.

The first set was fiercely contested, with Alcaraz claiming a tense tie-break. However, Shelton refused to break, unleashing powerful tennis while the Spaniard committed an increasing number of unforced errors. The momentum swung firmly in favor of the American in the next two sets, giving him a 2:1 lead in sets.

The Dramatic Deciding Set

With his back against the wall, Alcaraz regrouped. Exhibiting his trademark baseline winners and intense focus, he seized control of the tempo as the momentum shifted again. The Spaniard broke twice, winning 6:1 to force a decisive fifth set. The final frame turned into a genuine thriller. Shelton saved several break points at 2:2 before edging ahead 3:4. Producing breathtaking shots, the American earned three break points of his own, but Alcaraz maintained his composure, retrieving every ball to force a tie-break.

Shelton fired blistering serves to jump to a 3:1 lead, before Alcaraz fought back to 3:3 and then staged a brilliant turnaround to make it 5:3. The American continued to draw on his immense energy to level the score. Alcaraz edged ahead 6:5, but Shelton turned it around to 7:6 as the tension reached a fever pitch. A crucial error from the Spaniard allowed Shelton to claim the next points, sealing the victory 8:6 and 10:7 in the tie-break after an exhaustive 4 hours and 31 minutes.

"It will take special tennis from me. What he does after five months without playing is superhuman," Ben Shelton said ahead of the match.